Barbara Casey claims she
was fired to prevent news of animal abuse on the set of HBO's
"Luck" from getting out.Jeff Cully/EEFAS

A former employee of the American Humane Association who says she
was fired from the HBO horse-racing drama "Luck" after complaining
about abusive treatment of the animals on the set has filed a
wrongful-termination suit against HBO, as well as the AHA.

In the suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday,
Barbara Casey says that she was fired in January 2012 "in order
to prevent her from reporting ... violation of animal abuse and
cruelty laws and/or in retaliation for her efforts in reporting
same."

HBO pulled the plug on "Luck" in March 2012, after three horses
died during the production of the series.

Casey says that representatives for the AHA observed numerous
instances of abuse, including the drugging of horses in order to
get them to perform, and the use of underweight and sick horses
that were unsuitable for the work involved. However, complaints
were stymied by the show's producers and, at the urging of the
show's producers, by the AHA itself, which "told its
representatives not to document" the death of one horse "because
he was killed during a summer hiatus from filming and therefore
'did not count.'"

"Plaintiff repeatedly complained to AHA and the Production
Defendants about horses being criminal abused, neglected and/or
mistreated on set," the suit reads. "She cited AHA and/or the
Production Defendants to violations of laws and criminal statutes
pertaining to the mistreatment and/or abuse of animals ...
Plaintiff urged AHA to get the police, the district attorney
and/or the city attorney involved."

However, the suit claims, "AHA bowed to political and financial
pressure and refused to report the Production Defendants' conduct
to the authorities."

In early January 2012, Casey alleges, she was canned by the AHA
in order to keep her from complaining -- and it did so with the
encouragement of the "Luck" producers.

HBO/"Luck"

"The Production Defendants provided advice, encouragement and/or
moral support to AHA to terminate Plaintiff," the complaint
alleges. "The Production Defendants aided and abetted in
Plaintiff's termination so that the 'Luck' production would not
be made more costly, time consuming and/or otherwise disrupted."

HBO denied Casey's allegations, saying that the network "took
every precaution" for the horses' safety, and that her grievance
is with her former employer, not with the network.

"We took every precaution to ensure that our horses were treated
humanely and with the utmost care, exceeding every safeguard of
all protocols and guidelines required of the production," an HBO
spokeswoman told TheWrap in a statement. "Barbara Casey was not
an employee of HBO, and any questions regarding her employment
should be directed to the AHA."

A spokeswoman for the AHA told TheWrap that the organization is
unable to comment on the pending legal matter.

In addition to wrongful termination, Casey alleges violation of
California labor code and aiding and abetting.